Every week in Best New Tracks, Team NME undertake an algorithm-free hunt for the biggest and best releases across the globe – the tunes that’ll dominate your weekend listening and beyond.
Words: Thomas Smith and Sophie Williams
Beyoncé – ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’
The rumours are true: Beyoncé has entered her country era. ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, the first taste of ‘Renaissance’ follow-up ‘Act II’ (due March 29) embodies her ascension to the throne as one of the most important artists in modern history – an icon unveiling yet another side to her artistry, showing us how it’s done, and taking what’s hers. Its arrangement is dotted with playful whistles and dewy guitar tones, while in contrast, she darts through various images (tornados, line dances, the sweltering summer heat), never resting long enough for you to grasp what’s next. Sublime stuff. SW
DIIV – ‘Brown Paper Bag’
According to some corners of the internet, shoegaze is so back, the recent successes of Slowdive, Feeble Little Horse and Yeule playing a part of that. It’s been five years since DIIV’s last album, though it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that their popularity has played a part in that mini-revival. They return with new album ‘Frog In Boiling Water’ in the Spring, a metaphor for the “overwhelmingly banal collapse of society under end-stage capitalism”; we are the frogs, they add, viciously meeting our demise. On ‘Brown Paper Bag’, they’ve never sounded more cutting. TS
Dua Lipa – ‘Training Season’
In the era of hyper-competitive stans and chart data, Dua Lipa appears to get a rougher ride than most. ‘Houdini’, the first single from the still-unannounced third album, stalled in the UK and US charts, though Dua said in 2023 that “longevity is more important”. New single ‘Training Season’ could take her over the top; built on a taut guitar riff, what could explode into a shiny chorus instead plumps for a dizzying, understated melody. It’ll be rattling around your head all weekend. TS
Mary In The Junkyard – ‘Ghost’
Regular punters of The Windmill in Brixton will agree that watching Mary In The Junkyard concoct their own world from afar has been a total joy. Having spent the past year picking up dozens of support slots at the south London venue, the trio’s second single, ‘Ghost’, is another beguiling entry point to their bewitching and experimental indie sound. The song teeters on an unsteady drum pattern, while strings quietly surge from behind at gale force. Songwriter Clari Freeman-Taylor’s voice is small and slightly detached, but quietly compelling enough to lure you through each disorienting change in rhythm and pace. SW
Nia Archives – ‘Silence Is Loud’
For the last few years, Nia Archives has been banging the drum for jungle across the festival scene and in clubs across the globe. But it’s always been made clear that this is no nostalgia trip, but that she’d use the mission to expand the scene, her sound and fuse in new elements. She’s just announced that her debut album ‘Silence Is Loud’ will be released in April and shared the title track, a mix of frenetic drums, wailing guitars and heavily reverbed vocals. It’s a sound entirely of her own. TS
Vampire Weekend – ‘Capricorn’
Vampire Weekend’s last album, 2019’s sprightly, colourful and scrapbook-like ‘Father Of The Bride’, could be read as a journey of self-discovery: it covered late 20s’ malaise, the relentless cycle of social media, and coping with fears of death. ‘Capricorn’, the New York band’s first slice of new material since their last record, feels similarly reflective. Atop roomy production that mirrors the stream-of-consciousness vocalist Ezra Koenig is wading through, pummeling drums and spiralling keys add a little bit of levity to a song that captures both the anxiety and acceptance of not knowing what’s around the corner. SW
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